Performing arts have been a part of Indian cultural history since ancient times. Wall paintings, excavated artifacts, and memoirs have vividly mentioned various dance forms. As per texts, the first dance drama was performed in the court of Lord Indra. Natyashastra documents all the performing arts extensively and as per the text the art forms can be characterized in three categories Nritta (movement of the body to music without any expressions or abhinaya), Nritya (confluence of nritta and abhinaya), and Natya (use of dialogues along with music and dance).
The dance forms are mainly categorized as-Classical dance or Folk dance. However, irrespective of the category, the majority of dance forms are devotional and connected to religion in some ways. A few of the many dance forms performed in India are:
Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Manipur, Mohiniattam, Chhau, Kuchipudi etc.
In the beginning my intention was to write a short criticism of the existing schools and types of Indian dancing and how far they follow the codified rules and principles laid down in the ancient Sanskrit works relating to Hindu dance and drama. The Sanskrit books and translations which we have at the present age are fragmentary pieces of the actual science of fine arts which India possessed in old days, but even then the original scriptures are enough to give us an idea of our cultural heritage. Having those codifications of the Sangita Sastra as basis and making them the foundation-stone we can build up palaces. To make a thing classic, it is necessary for us to take the aid of the classic, we cannot completely delete it nor can we keep it aside ignored. In order to make our present and future productions successful and of a high order, to keep them pulsating and throbbing, and to make them permanent, we have to seek for another permanent object, and a pure, chaste, artistic and aesthetic matter is not only permanent but eternal. Ancient and modern must collaborate.
It has given me a great pleasure to go througli the manuscript of the present compilation, and I feel confident that a book of this kind will be of great use to all those who are interested in Indian art and culture. The book has tried to cover a vast field and tries to depict a systematic survey of the art of dancing. Till recently people have looked askance at the art of dancing, but of late it has received a great impetus and its cultural value has been felt by the educated people. Still it is sad to see that the majority have hardly enough knowledge to distinguish between the good and the bad, technique and show, mere dry science and graceful sweetness.
This work is diligently compiled and will not only be helpful to the students learning dance but also dance artists and scholars and to the public at large who have not the means to discriminate between the different types of dancing.
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